


Image Edit: The River-women

by starlightwalking



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Edit, Embedded Images, Gen, Ghosts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-08 21:44:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20842487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking
Summary: Inspired by the prompt:"Goldberry & Lalaith. I'm in love with the idea of Goldberry encountering the ghost of little Lalaith. I don't mind whether you want to depict Goldberry as a comforting mother and friend figure, or whether her interactions with Lalaith's spirit take a darker turn. Does Tom get to meet Lalaith too? Or maybe Lalaith likes to hang out by the Withywindle, leading unwary travellers to the water with her laughter..."I really, really hope the images display properly, but I have been having trouble with them. I've included image descriptions for accessibility, and these will eventually be available on tumblr also.





	Image Edit: The River-women

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Narya (Narya_Flame)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narya_Flame/gifts).

> Inspired by the prompt:  
"Goldberry & Lalaith. I'm in love with the idea of Goldberry encountering the ghost of little Lalaith. I don't mind whether you want to depict Goldberry as a comforting mother and friend figure, or whether her interactions with Lalaith's spirit take a darker turn. Does Tom get to meet Lalaith too? Or maybe Lalaith likes to hang out by the Withywindle, leading unwary travellers to the water with her laughter..."
> 
> I really, really hope the images display properly, but I have been having trouble with them. I've included image descriptions for accessibility, and these will eventually be available on tumblr also.

* * *

[Image description: 6 images depicting Niënor, Lalaith, and Goldberry from Tolkien's Legendarium.

The first image depicts a woman with strawberry-blonde hair floating beneath black water, wearing a billowing white dress. The image is titled "Niënor Níniel" and subtitled "the river-woman" and "ghost of the Teiglin."

The second image depicts a blonde woman in a white dress. Her hair is blowing in the wind, obscuring her face. The image is covered in text, which reads: "After casting herself into the Teiglin, Niënor's spirit drifted up and down the current, haunting the people of Brethil, drowning wicked men in the river's depths. She bound herself to the Maia of the Teiglin and bore the river's daughter, a spirit known as Goldberry..."

The third image depicts a body of water with several water lilies floating on its surface. The image is covered in text, which reads: "Lalaith's ill-timed death warped her spirit, her laughter poisoning the waters of the river whose name she bore. Amidst the drowning of Beleriand she was swept eastward, where her ghost slept for many ages, until her child's spirit awoke when disturbed by the people of the Shire..."

The fourth image depicts a pale white girl with blonde hair wearing a white dress. She is underwater, with eyes closed, and yellow leaves surround her throat like a noose. The image is titled "Urwen Lalaith" and subtitled "the laughing spirit" and "ghost of Nen Lalaith."

The fifth image depicts a blonde woman in a pale pink dress. She is kneeling at a pool of water in a forested area, and she is reaching down close to the water. She is wearing a flower crown and an arm-bracelet made of flowers. The image is titled "Goldberry" and subtitled "the river-daughter" and "spirit of the Withywindle."

The sixth and final image depicts a strawberry-blonde woman in a cream dress sitting on a mossy rock. She is facing away from the viewer, staring into a forest. The image is covered in text, which reads: "Goldberry settled into the Withywindle with her mother Niënor. She met and married the enigma Tom Bombadil and watched over wandering hobbits. When another river spirit troubled her domain she confronted little Lalaith and comforted her, bringing her into the family to which she always belonged." End image description.]

**Author's Note:**

> ETA 10/13/19: [Link to a rebloggable tumblr post version of this edit!](https://arofili.tumblr.com/post/188324618449/the-river-women-for-naryaflame)
> 
> I've had this unfounded headcanon for the longest time - I'm very glad to have gotten an opportunity to explore it :) I tried very hard to turn this into a fic but it just wasn't working out...maybe someday!  
***ETA 3/21/2020*** [a bit of poetry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23242180) for this idea is now available!  

> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [@arofili](http://arofili.tumblr.com).

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Lay of Niënor](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23242180) by [starlightwalking](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking)


End file.
